Originally Posted by
tdracer
That's debatable. Wiki quotes the cruise speed for the CV-990 as Mach 0.84. Depending on the model, the 747 'normal' cruise is between Mach 0.84 and 0.86 (the target during initial design was 0.87).
IIRC, the -100 through -300 had a noticeably higher max cruise than the -400, due to wing changes on the -400 I think? (Please correct me, those who flew them).
I do remember watching a documentary a few years ago that covered what happened with President Bush and Air Force One (being the VC-25A/747-200) on 9/11. They spent a number of hours flying random paths around the middle of the USA to keep the President safe, at max possible cruise from what they said, and they were being escorted by groups of fighters scrambled from various bases as they moved across the country. At one point a group of escorting F-16s had to ask the VC-25A to slow down - they were only able to pace it by constantly popping in and out of first stage afterburner, with the horrendous fuel penalty that entailed. One of the F-16 pilots was on the documentary saying 'I didn't know a 747 could go that fast'.